The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1887-03-17


competence repeatedly prefers tho same
charges against the board Of agriculture.
Let us investigate the operations of this
board and ascertain whether my brass
and the commissioners good liquor have
most disqualified me, or his signal sue
cess as a farmer has best qualified him
to sit in judgment on the merits Of the
board. Dust here, rs an act Of simple
justice to Col. Butler, let me say that /
neither drank any of his liquor nor did
L take o drink with him during my stay
In Columbia.)
The board of agriculture comprises a
membership of five. One of these posi-
tions was filed for two years by Gov
ernor Hagood and four years by Gov
ernor Thompson. Charges of the nature
preferred by Capt Tillman will not hold
| good against this fifth of the board in
tho eyes of the public. Col. j. N. Lips
comb, for four years secretary of State
and master of the State Grange, is
another member of the board. Who are
the best judges of Col. Lipscomb's fit
ness for Office, the people of South Caro-
lima, who have twice endorsed him for
the responsible position of secretary of
State, and the farmers, who have unin-
terruptedly chosen him for chief of their
Order, or those who are miserable fail
ures in their own avocation? A third
membership has been filed by Col. ID.
L. Duncan. [ can point to no more
conclusive evidence of his fitness and
capacity for the position than the fact
that he has been repeatedly chosen by
the most progressive and intelligent
farmers and mechanics for president of
the Agricultural aud Mechanical Society
OF the State. w. d. Johnson, a large
and successful planter, who was chan
cellor under the old regime, is fourth
member, and Mr.. A. S. j. Porry, a mer-
chant, is the fifth and last member of
the board.
TO Mr.. Perry's energy and enterprise
the State is indebted to largo extent
for basing the estimate of the royalty
paid by tho Coosnw Company on crude
rock instead Of dried rock, q measure
which resulted in the recovery of ST.
9S3.4G Tor tic State and an annual in
crease in its revenue of $1,000. The
operations of the board of agriculture
were made an object Of scrutiny by the
economic caucus Of tho Legislature in
December, 1885, which was so micro
scope III its ideas Of retrGneilm,nt as to
DC dubbed "threo for a quarter" This
investigation was conducted by Repre-
sentative Pope, the recognized leader of
the economic wing Of tho House, and
tor the information of the public, and
that certain party may be Struck with
another 'rcaiization OF his own errors
and the errors Of those. around him." I
Will quote synopsis of the report rs
gwen ny the News and Courier Decem-
bur ), 1885:
'Nir. Pope presented an elaborate
statistical report, fully endorsing the
uUr&an OF aGricnlturG, nnd stating that
any interference with tho bureau at this
time would be unwiaa and ipjudicious.
y long discussion followed. Everybody
endorsed the bureau" Stimulated, no
doubt, by the criticisms Of Capt. Till
man, to the effect that the board of agri-
culture was spending lots of money in
lawyers fees, when we had an attorney
general with big salary to attend to
such matters, Mir. G. w. Shell, of Lau-
rehs, introduced n resolution in the
April Convention, which tho News and
Courier considered Capt. Yillman's
convention all the way through" nD-
pointing a committee Of three to inyesti
gate the charges.
Messrs. Shell, Dargan and Davis were
appointed on the committee to obtain
the desired information. The commit
tee, by way of report, introduced Col.
IL. A. Ransom, who would explain the
matter fully to the Convention At the
close OF Col. Ransom's statement, which
the Columbia correspondent of the
News and Courier said was very clear
ana explicit. "Scnator Talbert moved
that the report of the agricultural bureau
be received as entirely satisfactory to
tins Convention. Mr. Dargan moved to
amend by returning the thanks OF the
Convention to Mr.. Ransom for his plain
and explicit statement. He was gtad to
see that the bureau had the Judgment to
retain III its service so level-hcaded an
officer. Adopted amidst applause"
In view of charges of extravaganza and
maladmlnlstration against the State
government specifically made by Capt.
Ililman, MIR. Prince, of Anderson, in
troducGd IN the same Convention q reso-
luton providing for q committee of ten
TO examine the books and offices of the
several State departments. This rcsolu-
uon was referred to the committee on
resolutions, and was reported back with
the following comment by the said COM
mlttee; "Ihe committee on rules and
resolutions beg; leave to report that they
nave carefully considered the resolution
submitted by Mr.. Prince in reference to
the appointment of committee to in
VeStl8ate and report in reference to
state officers, and reflections on said
officers for extravaganza and maladmin-
lstrahon, and we are satisfied that said
report or reports are unfounded and un-
warranted, and we respectfully recon-
mond that said committee be not ap
pointed. The report of the committee
was adopted without dissent, thus tabling
the resolution" We thus see my brass
endorsed and Capt. Tillman's charges
reiuted amid applause and by the unani-
nous voice Of his own Convention.
Capt. TiIlman says I have failed to
point out in what way the farmers are
benefited by the board of agriculture,
and do not show where the $l70, 600 they
have spont has gone, and cannot show
@ny adequate results of its expenditure.
/ have just replied to Capt. Tillman in
the language Of his own Convention. l
will now reply to him in his own Ian
guage. In section '8" of O series of